New York (SATimes): Former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, Lord Rana of Ireland; Raj Loomba of London, Prof. Prem Misir of Guyana and prominent Indian American leaders attended a reception hosted by Dr. Thomas Abraham, founder of GOPIO (Global Organization of People of Indian Origin) at World Fair Marina restaurant in Flushing, New York Thursday evening. Addressing the gathering as a keynote speaker, Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri, deputy permanent representative of India to the UN, said immigration would soon become almost impossible to immigrate to any advanced country. Remittances to India touched new heights and foreign reserve surplus became a reality thanks to NRIs (nationals of the Republic of India) who contributed their skill and expertise to the adopted country and remittances to India. Indian government holds NRIs in very high esteem and Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is a salute to them for their stellar role in making India proud of their achievements. Dr. Thomas Abraham, founder-chairman of GOPIO International, said the organisation was formed 20 years ago in the midst of dotbusters scare in New Jersey and the overthrow of democratically elected government in Fiji. GOPIO was formed to unite Indians living abroad and it held annual meetings with global Indian leaders. Only in 2003, Government of India accepted GOPIO’s proposal to convene an annual conclave of NRIs. Basdeo Pandey, former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, praised the excellent work done by GOPIO in uniting Indians globally. Raj Loomba, founder and chairman of The Loomba Trust, London, Lord Rana of Ireland, Prof. Prem Misir, Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana, Chandu Patel, president of National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA), M. Ravikanth, IAS, CMD of National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation and GOPIO leaders attended the reception.